Tarphus went to sleep after the talk he had with his father. The ability to talk and be understood healed him. Then he remembered how his father would always go out and meet each and every new guard in the town. 

Tarphus remembered how his father would attend their funerals and make friends with their loved ones. Now he knew why his father allowed their family and friends to yell at him over their deaths and not punish them.

But he can think of that later; he was sore and wounded, so he slept. It was around the afternoon when he woke up; ten hours had passed. Though Tarphus had a fright when he opened his eyes, the floating Skull was there in his face as he awoke.

"Ah! Kit, what the hell!" the floating Skull did not move, but if it could express an emotion Tarphus expected, it would have been smugness. Kit's response, "the flesh is weak, needs improvements, check the rewards."

Tarphus blinked. He had forgotten about the rewards promised in that horrible place; survival was its own reward to him. However, the thought that he would be rewarded made him feel as though he did something.

Tarphus then opened his status; he was surprised at what he saw.

Race: Human Class: Summoner

Stars: 3

Status: Green

Familiar: Servo Skull (upgradable)

Summons: Unlocked

Items: Unlocked

Challenge: The time until the next challenge is 1 month

The changes were satisfying to Tarphus, as he feels like he had earned them; he would save the servo skull for last. The items tab was flashing at him, so he clicked on it first.

Congratulations, challenger, the God-Emperor has gifted you with a bionic eye. This will allow the user to see farther and much clearer than before, to upgrade this complete more challenges.

Tarphus felt pain in his left eye; it spread into this brain as if something was borrowing into the back of his Skull. He whimpered from the skull-splitting headache but did nothing. Kit just hovered in place, watching but doing nothing.

After Tarphus calmed down, he noticed that he could see again, tears streamed down his face, but Tarphus wanted to see what other items he could get.

Items that can be summoned:

One heavy weapon: 

Shody Flammer with three tanks of promethium*

Poor Heavy Autogun with five magazines of armor-piercing Autogun ammunition*

Crude Rocket Launcher with eight rockets*

Ammunition will be refreshed every twelve hours outside of combat.

Tarphus was happy that ammunition might not be a problem in the future but was saddened to choose between the different and valuable weapons. However, he can still put it off for the future.

Thus, satisfying himself, he scrolled down

Designation of light infantry

Each squad member gains:

1 Autogun

6 Autogun magazines*

1 Auto Pistol

4 Auto Pistol magazines*

1 Knife

1 Medkit*

1 Entrenching Tool kit

3 Ration Packs*

3 Frag Grenades*

1 Poorly made Flak Armor

Ammunition and consumables will be refreshed every twelve hours outside of combat.

Tarphus was happy about the stuff he got, especially the armor; he did not have that in the challenge. However, anything was better than nothing, in his opinion, so he looked at the summons and found himself wanting.

Summons:

1 squad of imperial guard recruits, having been taken from the Planetary Defence Force of a random planet, these 10 grunts are still considered raw recruits for the forces of man.

1 medic, 9 guardsmen

Land Vehicles: locked complete more challenges

Air Vehicles: Locked complete more challenges

That was it; it did not say anything about his squad from before; all it said was a squad, not his. He felt frustrated, but then a hope grew in his heart, a hope that maybe just maybe they would be in the challenge.

He then decided to look at the upgrades for his familiar; there were two

Combat Servo Skull unlocks many upgrades and enhancements for both the weapons armor of troops.

Utility Servo Skull unlocks repair kits and improves on kits and mobile stations down the road.

Tarphus did not know which one to choose; both would apply to his vehicles, and while he would love better weapons and armor for his troops. The thought of improved medkits or entrenching tools was enticing, not to mention that the repair kit would have been handy. Unfortunately, he had to trade auto guns many times as they broke in those firefights. He would have to wait before deciding on what to choose.

He summoned the squad just to be sure and what faced him were not his brothers or sisters, nor did they snap to attention immediately. On the contrary, they looked at him with shock on their faces, but they did not know his authority more than that. 

He would have to train them as they moved sluggishly, they tried to salute, but some threw out their shoulders. Others flared with wild motions; one did nothing at all, shocked at what was going on… Oh, he missed his squad already.

But that would be in a month, so he would have to survive until then. Tarphus knew he would, that was certain; he would crawl his way to it if he had to. He went through hell once he felt confident, he could do it again.

He remembered what the skeleton said oh so long ago, "war is the kilm of my subjects. It is where they are broken down. Through battle, they are forged; victory builds them, loss tempers them."

Tarphus would just have to find a battle and force them into the fires to truly forge them, just as he had been. Of course, he would make sure that they would not die, but genuinely challenging them would be a problem if death was not on the table.

He quickly unsummoned them; he will mold them soon. The north has many dangers, especially the greenskin menace. Though the ones up north do not have guns, the orcs were brutal, the goblins were sneaky. However, this is to be expected. The guardsmen were only recruits, they might have some experience, but that would be worthless here.

Lord Cullivan smiled as Tarphus left his room, who noticed that there were no servants around. Lord Cullivan nodded as Tarphus met his gaze. The boy had grown in that challenge; he walked with caution in his eyes. Good, he will need that on the front; there are bandits and greenskins around every corner.

Tarphus walks up to Lord Cullivan, "Father, I am ready to venture into the north." Lord Cullivan considered his son and smiled happily; he could see it in his son's eyes: Hope. Lord Cullivan saw it, and that healed him; good Tarphus will need to have that hope to survive.

"I have three wagons for you and several days of rations; you will be provided with rope camping supplies and a wardstone. That is all I can spare. I am sorry… Son." Lord Cullivan then got up out of his chair and walked over to his son.

There he held out his hand and spoke. "Goodbye, Tarphus Lorne. If you… When you get to the front, you will meet up with Guild Master Killigan of the Mercenary Guild. There you will be put to the test; all I can say is learn and grow as fast as possible. If you can do this, you may be able to… come back as a hero, or leave and live a happy life outside of politics."

Lord Cullivan then walked past Tarphus, who could not get a word in, "You must go out the north gate; no-one else will know. This is the best I can do; I am sorry." With that, the Lord of this critical town abandons his own son to the wolves of the north. Lord Cullivan then shuts the door on him. Tears streamed down Lord Cullivan's face.

Tarphus watched as his father exited the room and closed the door, he replayed what his father told him, and his face became firm with determination. 

He summoned and donned the armor and weaponry; he carried everything, the entrenching tools, the rations, even the ammunition he brought it all. He then followed his father's advice. When he went into the courtyard, he found three unattended Prairie Schooners.

Seeing this, he summoned his squad, all ten of them with their gear already assigned; he stared coldly at the lot of them. "You all are under my command. These are not the lands of the Imperium; as such, these people know not The God-Emperor. Our master and master of mankind, who has entrusted you all to me."

The squad looked at him, shocked Tarphus could see the question in their eyes, he smiled calmly. "Like I just said, this world knows not of the Emperor, and He has entrusted you all to me, so I shall ensure that you all survive. But only if you follow my orders can you survive here. So let us lay down some ground rules. Unless ordered, you will not gun down the heretic, or the mutant, or the Xenos filth."

Tarphus spat the word out like it was poison. The squad looked confused for a moment but then nodded. Some looked resentful, others simply bored. Tarphus frowned; it looked like he had more work to do than planned. However, it will be of no consequence; they will be forged and become more than they currently are.

Tarphus then turned to them and continued. "You will be responsible for the image of the Imperium. I cannot promise your life out here, but I will promise that you will kill the enemies of mankind. I promise that the Traitors will be hunted and hounded into oblivion, the greenskins will be burned with holy promethium. The mutant will face judgment for its crime of mere existence."

What got their attention on their shoulders was the weight of the Imperium's image. They will hunt down and purge the traitors. They will hound the greenskin menace dragging it into the light of the holy fire, the mutant, which was the bane of the Hiveworlds, would be scorched by the roots. But, oh, how they loved the sound of that. The Guardsmen felt such pride at having such a monumental task ahead of them.

Tarphus could see their backs straightened, "Now we are heading out the north gate and into the northern frontier. We can expect bandits and greenskins along the way, keep an eye out and have your autogun nearby. Now, are there any questions?"

The silence spoke for itself. Tarphus nodded. "Then mount up, get your packs into the carriages, and we will be off." They managed to gather all the supplies into the wagons. Tarphus smiled as his squad knew how to drive these wagons, not just him. 

Tarphus and his squad left town, though Tarphus felt as though someone was watching him as he left the town. He noticed that there was no one nearby, nor was anyone looking at the wagons. It was strange, but that was what happened when a caravan was installed with a wardstone.

They left the town without an incident, which allowed Tarphus a sigh of relief; while on the road, he shot the shit with men on his wagon. Tarphus was driving the middle one since it was the one with the ward stone.

However, after leaving the sightline of Cullivan, Tarphus traded places with the one upfront; there, he talked to the others in the wagon. They were standoffish at first but started to talk about their loves. One was passionate about wood carving, using his knife to carve into the piece of wood that he somehow managed to snag.

Here, he learned about the names of his squad; the two inside here were Tabois, the woodcarver, and Gus, the self-described prankster. The medic was Guile. The others in the wagons behind them were Julian, Gudo, Louis, Gabriel, Ari, Lucy, and Wither. Julian was apparently someone who likes explosions. Gudo was an easy-going guy with some rigorous workouts. 

Louis and Gabriel were twins that looked identical but were complete opposites. Louis was slow to anger and mostly optimistic, whereas Gabriel was a firecracker and would hold a grudge. Ari loved weapons; she hated when they were damaged; Gus complained that she would whisper to them occasionally.

Lucy was strange; she was zealous and believed in the Emperor with all her heart; Tabois one time walked into her prayers to the Emperor but would blush and not comment on what he saw. He would only point to his scar and say, "This is what happens when you interrupt her sessions." It was a large scar running from his check down to his chest.

Then Wither was a thief, but he would gather munitions or otherwise for his friends. However, he hated or rather feared lieutenants and above when it comes to rank. Claiming, "The medals poison the brains of perfectly good grunts like us." Or so Gus claims.

Whether or not this is true, Tarphus will find out himself; he looks at the sun and notes that it will set soon. Tarphus calls a halt and has the wagons circled; he helps set up the tents then goes over to Gudo as he wants to set up some kind of training regime. 

Though he has read books on what the regime should be, he wanted to talk with a person who knew what it could be. Gudo was surprised that he was asked but glad that someone would seek his knowledge.

With Gudo's advice, Tarphus made the following plan:

3-5 repetitions each:

• Windmill
• Leg Whips
• Balance and Reach, Rearward
• Push Up-rotations
• Squat-Reach-Jump
• Movement Drills
• Side-step Lunge
• Corkscrew Lunge

Then to cool down with the following:

• Mountain Climber Stretch
• Seated Hip Rotations
• Quadriceps Stretch
• Posterior Hip Stretch
• Scorpion
• Rotational Spine Stretch
• Prone Press

They would bounce from the intense repetitions to cool down with the "easier" exercises, going down the list once for now. Though before and after, they would go for a jog. It was strangely easy to get the squad to go along when implementing this, though Tarphus was worried he would fail in front of his team.

He just kept pushing through the awkward positions and the burning sensations that came with a good workout. Finally, when they were done, he sat down on the wagon. He started cleaning his autogun, listening to his squad, and genuinely happy that he did not make himself look like a fool in front of them… yet.

It was then an arrow embedded itself in the wooden poll inside of the wagon.